Fiona's Luck
by Teresa Bateman, Illustrated by Kelly Murphy
1st - 3rd Grades
Leprechauns have Ireland all to themselves and let their luck roam freely over the land. Humans come to Ireland and settle the fertile land. Prosperity abounds for the humans! The leprechaun king decides to hoard the leprechauns' luck so he sends leprechauns to gather up all the luck in Ireland while the humans sleep. The luck is gone and the humans cannot get their cows to produce milk, their chickens to lay eggs, nor the ground to grow potatoes. The people of Ireland believe they are out of luck. But they aren't completely out of luck because they have Fiona. She gets an idea to outwit the leprechaun king in a very clever way to try and get the leprechauns' luck back. A question to ponder after reading this story: Will luck or using your wits be more useful when solving problems? I liked this creative story with colorful illustrations and significant message so much I bought this book and donated it to the school library.
St. Patrick and the Three Brave Mice
by Joyce A. Stengel and Herb Leonhard
Read to K - 1st Grades
The legend of St. Patrick chasing all the snakes out of Ireland with his miraculous bell comes to life in this tale of three brave mice who help him rid Ireland of the last snake. The mice must courageously face great danger to help him! The Author's Note at the end of the book describes how this legend of St. Patrick is recognized in Ireland today.
Magic Treehouse, Leprechaun in Late Winter
by Mary Pope Osborne
2nd - 3rd Grades
Jack and Annie are on a mission from Merlin to help a girl named Augusta discover her special gift to give the world. They step out of their Magic Treehouse into an emerald green Ireland 150 years ago. They are dressed in poor clothes and seen as useless at the "Big House" because they don't know how to do farm work. (How many children today know how to milk a cow anyway?) Augusta takes Jack and Annie to her poor nursemaid, Mary, in her home in the forest. Mary tells a story of the Shee (irish fairies). Jack and Annie realize they are failing their mission to help Augusta but then a clever idea that includes a magical irish whistle and putting on a play gives them more help than they could ever imagine! Enjoy this captivating, magical story as the Shee and a leprechaun are discovered at a most timely manner for Jack, Annie and Augusta!Tales of Old Ireland
by Malachy Doyle
4th - 6th Grades
Malachy Doyle has gathered a collection of irish tales that have been passed down from generation to generation in Ireland. The students were fascinated by the irish tale from this book called, The Twelve Wild Geese. There are other tales in the book as well but this was my favorite so I wanted to share it with them. This fourth to sixth grade level tale includes a fairy, magic, curses, kings and queens, a jealous, wicked step mother, and a bond of love between 12 brothers and their faithful sister that suffers tremendous adversity. I was delighted to hear students discussing the story amongst themselves afterward so I know this is a winning choice for them! I don't necessarily appreciate other tales in this book to read to children, but this one was wonderful in my opinion.
No comments:
Post a Comment